what are the cases when you are allowed to get the “interim” clearance???
and how to ask your recruiter (gov. contractor co) about it, without being annoying?
I would hate to wait as long as some people have been… clearance level applied is T5.

An interim clearance may only be granted if the sponsor asks for it, typically at the time they submit the application for clearance. Your sponsor (company) should make it clear whether or not they are putting your application up for an interim eligibility determination or not, but you can always ask your FSO. If you don’t know, your FSO is your contact within the security office who is managing your application.

Even when the interim is requested, it is very often denied. I have often heard it cited that only 70% of applications are granted for interim, while 99% of final clearances are granted. I don’t think this is correct, but the point is that it is harder to get an interim. If there is ANYTHING in your file that needs to be investigated (e.g. drug use, foreign contacts, financial issues), then you shouldn’t be surprised if you aren’t granted an interim. This is especially true for high level clearances, such as the one you presumably applied for.

Sometimes people are granted interims. These people usually have exceptionally clean files. But even squeaky files are sometimes denied interims, and sometimes people who have a bit of color to their file are granted. It’s not deterministic.

One thing that people tend to forget about interims is that the sponsor not only has to ask for the interim determination, they have to justify the request. They have to show that filling the job quickly is not only needed but that they will have a problem filling it with someone who is already cleared.

So let me ask you this, in your opinion if you are granted an interim after disclosing that you sold weed in college two years ago what would be the likelihood that you’d not be granted a final favorable?

It is quite unlikely that you would not be granted a final if granted an interim. It’s more often that interims are denied than finals. The only case in which I could see you being granted an interim and being denied a final (which would also revoke your interim) would be if you failed to list something big on the SF-86, making your file look much cleaner than it actually was when investigated.

It seems surprising that you were granted an interim under those circumstances but the only way that I can see a denial is if the investigation brings out more information about your sales activities than you have admitted. For example if you talked about selling dime bags to some friends and your references or other contacts made indicate that you were moving weed by the pound . . .

No, I did it for a little over six months and it was a total of six ounces (I know this isn’t small amounts by any means). I had four friends that all struggled with anxiety and were always really zoned out on their meds so they smoked weed instead. I knew a guy that had it so I got it from him and then provided it to them. Not an excuse, just wasn’t doing it for money or anything.

Yeah, that was my initial thought process as well… I have read all over that interims are VERY hard to get even with a clean record. Could it have anything to do with the fact that I’m going for public trust or does that not have any weight?